Spring
by Xeen Cyr
Summary: filler for "The Same Old Story" S1E02 . Olivia lost her temper and left the lab. Peter's rant....


**Spring**

_No inFRiNGEment intended._

_Note: filler for "The Same Old Story". Olivia lost her temper and left the lab. Peter's rant._

-o-

He had been wrong to believe that she was made of steel. It was only her poker face. Underneath the armour, she was as sensitive as the next woman he knew, probably more. He just chose the easy way because he resented her for her saving John Scott's life at all costs gambit and dragging and blackmailing him into this madness, --and that was just the tip of the iceberg. She did not want to get him started on the Walter issue.

He should have read into her pretty easily. They were so alike in some uncanny ways even if their background could not have been more dissimilar.

He was the by-product of an experiment gone awry between his absent genius father and a mother he adored and had chosen a deconstructed life of short-term expedients, turning into a rogue chameleon in the process.

Not only was she an army brat, but she enlisted, given that the army will provide her safety and peace of mind and reasonably fair assignments that will keep her from wandering back to memory lane and her most likely faulted childhood.

And now she was given a hard time by every macho in town on their personal vendetta or whatever. She deserved better. Actually she deserved a man like John Scott. Too bad she killed her and had to bear the additional guilt. Life was unfair to the Olivia Dunhams of this world.

She was not equipped to deal with this freak show, the disintegrating lover, the robotic COO, the aging babies, the lunatic scientist, or the concept of cultivating soldiers for that matter. It was too close for comfort.

She should not have to deal with him either, the resident clown, the permanent pessimistic know-it-all who had lost not only his imagination as Walter had put it so bluntly but his faith in the human kind. His belief was that he could survive to live the day and not look farther ahead. No past, no future. He also knew that being the dumb wise cracker would not help her. His usual tricks, the easy flirting banter, the clever quips and brilliant witticism, all this, that was out of the picture, -- even him knew better.

He had also known for quite a long time now that he could deal easily with loss and rejection. But once again, the situation at hand had proved him wrong, demonstrating the shallow stupidity of his post-adolescent dismissal of family values, father figure, romantic paraphernalia and whatnot which denied him the possibility of drawing out of their meaning. That meaning that should grant him the strength to building a world for himself, given the chance.

Olivia had probably been ripped off of something similar, he did not know what exactly, but he had a fair idea. Deep down, the knowledge that they shared something somehow, derived from a fractured life and obvious lack of self-confidence, hidden behind the convenient mask of 'professional' expertise, was the reason he went after her on Harvard Campus.

Her reaction was so unlike her. She was not supposed to have feelings, nobody was in that line of work. That's what she intended to display anyway, --even Walter could see that it was sheer fabrication. So she had snapped at him, at Walter. For Olivia, such an outburst, it was just like making a stand to the whole world, the equivalent of a personal earthquake.

But in some twisted way, Peter was relieved that she had. Maybe she will accept she was human and become a team player. He had yet to persuade her he could do the same thing, and, he was not kidding himself, it would be hard without lying. He was prepared to show willing though, and really give it a try, in order to alleviate the burden she had too readily accepted to carry alone.

He will show her that she could rely on them, the others. And that did not mean the army, the Bureau, or the newborn Fringe Division because entities don't provide solace when you're lost in a sea of doubt. Real people, friends, or people that could become friends, do.

In his own unpredictable way, Walter had managed to push her away, to acknowledge that she had every right to relate to others. He did not know that he was making it so very personal. Not only did he frighten her away but he involved him as well, hitting a raw nerve. Too true, too soon, for the both of them.

That's why he was trying to locate her. Not to prove Walter that he had indeed a way with women or that he was worth being his son, but to reach out to her, be a shoulder to cry on or the guy she could vent on should something go wrong, which undoubtedly will happen anyhow, not matter what they do.

He had to make her understand that not everything that will go wrong will be her fault, just as everything that went wrong already, was either. In other words, he had to find her so that they could lick their wounds together.

It was a very sunny spring day. A day made for lovers and valentines. He had been walking for the best part of the last two hours when he spotted her. She was seated on a bench, facing the pond, lost in the contemplation of a father and his son.

He took a deep breath and resisted to rush off. For once, he had to concentrate on someone else's problems and not his own. She will never know but it was a giant step for him and a welcome change in his life.

"Hey."

So much for being the genius son, he thought. He did not look at her but felt her tension weaken. He waited for her to respond, figuring that he will merely have to catch the ball to help her. How hard could it be?

-o-

_Please r & r !!!!!_


End file.
